It has been suggested by the mother of a vegan influencer who went suddenly at the young age of 39 that the influencer’s food choices may have been a contributing factor in her untimely death.
Over the course of her Instagram account, Zhanna Samsonova, who was born and raised in Russia, garnered more than 10,000 followers by sharing recipes and “raw plant-based meals.”
For a period of 10 years, Samsonova had adhered solely to a raw vegan diet. During this time, she had reportedly abstained from drinking water in favor of fruit juices and had powered herself on smoothies, fruits, and seeds.
She cried in one of her posts, “No salt, less fat, no oil, and no food that has been partially dehydrated!” Just one single meal will do! And that’s all. To add insult to injury, I have been a raw vegan for the last 10 years here.
After spending several years traveling around Asia, Samsonova passed away on July 21 in Malaysia.
In an interview with the Russian newspaper Vechernyaya Kazan, her mother, Vera Samsonova, expressed the belief that her daughter’s nutrition could have been a factor in her passing away. Since then, her family has been making efforts to get Samsonova’s remains returned to Russia so that the formal cause of death may be confirmed.
It was said by the mother that while first reports on Samsonova’s death indicated that it had been caused by an illness similar to cholera, she proposed that Samsonova might have fought even harder as a consequence of the exhaustion that was brought on by her limited diet.
Even though Vera made every attempt to convince her daughter to modify her vegan diet, she refused to do so. Her daughter had not expressed any concerns about her health.
During interviews with the Russian news outlet 116.ru, a couple of Samsonova’s close friends expressed their concerns over the influencer’s nutritional intake.
“It was scary to look at her, to be honest; her hands were like those of my 12-year-old sister, thin,” said one friend, while another claimed to have seen Samsonova “looking weary” a few months previously in Sri Lanka. Both of these statements were made by acquaintances.
She was transported back to her house so that she might obtain medical attention. However, she departed once again. According to what they claimed, “I was terrified when I saw her in Phuket.”
In a post that she made soon before she passed away, Samsonova shared with her followers that she found herself experiencing a “body and mind transformation every day.”
“Because I adore the new version of myself, I never revert to my old behaviors,” she added without more explanation.
According to Healthline, the raw vegan diet offers a number of benefits, including lowering blood cholesterol levels and increasing heart health. These benefits are attributed to the diet’s concentration on fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds.
However, there are certain drawbacks associated with the diet, such as the possibility that the meal does not include essential vitamins like vitamin B12, which causes the muscles and bones of the body to become more fragile.